Goody two, goody two
Goody, goody two shoes
Goody two, goody two
Goody, goody two shoes
Don't drink, don't smoke
What do you do
Don't drink, don't smoke
What do you do
Subtle innuends follow
There must be something inside
- Adam Ant
Self-knowledge, according to Norris, is a way in which we know ourselves (warts and all) that allows for and encourages change and transformation. To learn about the effects of one's childhood traumas or family dynamics is useful...when it leads to change, when these same attributes can be healed in some way or recognized as areas of incompleteness.
Self-consciousness is the awareness of these same attributes (warts and all) without the desire for change. Such knowledge is simply a catalogue of our dysfunctions. We may even hold on to these negative traits with pride, refusing to change. She states that we miss the point of the self-knowledge that a healthy spirituality requires. We refuse to be changed.
Today, to suggest that a change might be in order, starting with a healthy drop in self-absorption, is anathema: its a free country, and don't lay your values on my self-respect. If the early [Christian] monks paid close attention to themselves, it was only because they knew that rigorous self-analysis was an indispensable spiritual practice. Change was the point of the discipline...It's also important to note that she does not equate such a discipline with the hyper-moralized Protestant list of do's and don'ts. It's not moralism. It's transformation that she's after. So, your faults don't make you a bad person. You aren't "going to hell" because you have certain faults. As Christians we are simply called to transformation.
To people schooled in a religion that has often seemed to define sin as a grocery list of dos and don'ts, these monks can seem, as the Dominican Simon Tugwell explains in Ways of Imperfection, "rather casual about morality." They were not all concerned, he writes, "that people should behave correctly according to the rules, but rather people should see their situation clearly for what it is, and so become free from the distorting perspective which underlies all our sins."This may be a helpful message to those who are struggling to "recover" from some of the more conservative strains of American Protestantism (and perhaps Catholicism, but I cannot speak to that from experience). So often in such a desire to slough off the moral codes we decide that there is no such thing as sin, no such thing as being out of synch with God. In truth there is sin...but the very notion of it has been so polluted with moralism that we are left with nothing at all. And, to make matters more complicated, we may act "in sin" and call it "authenticity" and the transformation of our selves, our communities and our world will be stuck in place. This is a kind of slavery. Norris closes this section of the book with this quotation by Henri de Lubac:
It is not sincerity, it is Truth which frees us, because it transforms us. It tears us away from our inmost slavery. To seek sincerity above all things is perhaps, at bottom, not to want to be transformed.As I am frequently reminded, language matters. And there are words ("sin" perhaps chief among them) that have lost their meaning and purpose for many of us. We can spend our lives working through some kind of linguistic archaeology. Can we dig up the original intent of the language and come up with some new word? Can we rescue the old word? It's a struggle to be certain and one with which any two thousand year old spiritual tradition must engage. Norris shares a deep wisdom in this book, an old wisdom that might be helpful to many of us. Authenticity is not permission to go about our lives crafting an altar to ourselves. Authenticity is or can be the admission of imperfection and the stated desire to change. Christianity is at its core about resurrection and transformation for all the world. Some might call this "salvation."
Okay...and with that I think I'll have some more coffee.
Posted by tripp at November 11, 2008 05:45 AMYou note that "we may act 'in sin' and call it 'authenticity'..."
And the dangerous flip side of that is seen when people look at someone else's behavior and call it "sin." If the Great Commandment to love one another manifests in a way that makes the observer uncomfortable, he or she is quick to label the manifestation "sin" instead of recognizing it for what it really is.
Perhaps it's not possible to recognize another's "sin," only one's own.
Posted by: Megan at November 11, 2008 07:37 AMI agree entirely...Perhaps we can say something like...um...We can recognize the sin, but cannot judge someone for it. Our is not the place to judge. Killing someone is likely a sin. We can call it such, but judging someone in light of that sin is to be avoided...
Something like that...
Posted by: Tripp at November 11, 2008 09:05 AMI'm getting this book from the library tonight (it's on hold for me) and I'm really looking forward to reading it after reading your thoughts on it. Thanks!
Posted by: Jennifer at November 11, 2008 09:46 AMI got tagged, so I am tagging you...
Posted by: justin at November 11, 2008 02:16 PMTripp, I would take it even farther: I would say you can recognize the *action,* but cannot categorize it as "sin."
Posted by: Megan at November 11, 2008 06:51 PMWow.
That's an awful lot of heady stuff for 5:45 A.M. I counted myself fortunate to have correctly made a bottle of formula and not dropping the baby at that point. :-)
The words about Truth and Sincerity are indeed thought-provoking; think I'll add this to the list of "must-read" books.
Posted by: Scott at November 12, 2008 09:21 AMI just have never had any problem with that word, sin. Or sinner. Or the 10 commandments.
I see sin as meaning we are imperfect. The word for sin could be smugersfelder. I am
a smugersfelder. (I just made up that word)
Who cares.
If you get rid of the word "sin" because it is
"offensive" then lots more words will follow.
They will seem too judgmental such as: manipulative, liar, .....
It will never stop.
It's just a word.
I am going to delve into the 10 commandments.
On the train I have heard Hassidic jews discussing with regular jews about their laws.
They have like 600 laws. I have never seen people so enthusiastic about following 600 laws.
What is even more fascinating is how they really believe that they can do it and they enjoy it.
We Protestants have 10 and we complain.
Blows my mind.
My fav restaurant is the Fisherman's Cove.
Jamaican. They put up a poster of the 10 commandments. No shame. No blame. Just the poster. Love it. It is a part of history.
They play reggae music there. One day amidst the
popular reggae was "He Touched Me" , the reggae version. Way cool. Nobody flinched.
Why are we so insecure with our faith?
Not I, said the fly.
This California minister said that if a person has a problem with one of the commandments, it usually means they are committing it and want to get away with it. I agree. I had a boss who said that lying isn't bad because everybody does it. Not everybody does it -- but he sure did!
The man couldn't tell the truth to save his life!
I said all of that to say this:
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.
There will ALWAYS be judgemental people. Labelers. Etc. They are not going to go away
by getting rid of the word "sin."
Sin sin sin sin sin sin sin sin sin sin sin sin
Say it 10 times real fast.
:)
I, too, didn't want the book to end. Norris' writing seemed at its best, like a good red wine given time to breathe and open up, and full of plenty of wisdom.
Posted by: raisin at November 12, 2008 03:53 PM